DeSean Jackson is not Aaron Hernandez. Anyone making that comparison makes that assumption has not done their due diligence or speaks out of complete ignorance. So the rumors are flying off the handle these days with buzz that Jackson, the talented wide receiver the Philadelphia Eagles just cut, is in over his head with his association with reported gang members, individuals charged with killing two people.

Unless Jackson has direct ties to these reported and alleged killings, where is the connection to Hernandez? There’s warrant out for Jackson’s arrest. Law enforcement has even come out to state that Jackson has had nothing to do what has been ill-reported in the latest new cycle.

So, what’s the big fuss?

Chip Kelly and the Eagles will regret getting rid of the speedy Jackson. First, the Eagles turned the backs on playmaking quarterback Michael Vick. Now they’ve cut ties with the Pro Bowl wideout, with a lot of fanfare swirling around their decision to let Jackson go. If Kelly and the Eagles think their gong to keep on clicking like this is Oregon, they’ve got another thing coming.

How far do the Eagles think they’re going to go with a polarizing and limited Riley Cooper or a fumbling, bumbling Jeremy Macklin? Macklin is coming off an ACL injury, and still has not proven to be that guy at wide receiver. Cooper, the same Cooper who uttered the N-word, probably couldn’t walk into another NFL locker room and found it safe to stay with the Eagles.

Why would the Eagles all of a sudden get some backbone now and kind of allude that they don’t like the company that Jackson keeps? Did the team’s general manager fall asleep at the wheel and all of sudden he discovered he had to do his job? So all of this comes as a revelation to the team? If it is true, which I doubt, that means there’s been years of incompetence from the front office of the Eagles.

Okay, I get it. Any type of involvement with dubious characters automatically makes Jackson guilty by association. If its true, in that respect, Jackson has to do a better job at monitoring who he hangs out with as a professional player making a paycheck in the NFL.

On the flip side of the coin, Jackson has been a model citizen, keeping his nose clean (that we know of) and out of trouble since Andy Reid drafted him from Cal. Perhaps the most dangerous receiver in the game today, Jackson had an all-time year last season with the Eagles.

Jackson caught 82 balls for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns for the Eagles last season. At the end of the day, the Eagles’ choice to release Jackson has everything to do with the money. Jackson was scheduled to make a base salary of $10.5 million this year from Eagles.

My guess is that the Eagles had to have a valid reason to release their best reason so they found a way out with all of this other crap surrounding Jackson and his reported off-field activities. Jackson will continue to take out as an elite wide receiver. The Eagles, on the other hand, will be grounded.

Dennis covers the NFL (Chargers), NBA (Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers), Major League Baseball (Los Angeles Dodgers) and NCAA sports (USC, UCLA, Long Beach State). Dennis has also covered and written on topics such as civil rights, politics and social justice. Dennis is a proud alum of Howard University.

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